


Meeting the Family

by notabadday



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-12-30 07:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1015691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notabadday/pseuds/notabadday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my response to an anonymous request for a fic based around the idea of Grace coming to a Shelby family meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meeting the Family

Daylight creeping in through the curtains eventually stirred Tommy, the experience of sleeping through till morning still new to him. He extended his arm across the other side of the bed still half asleep, but he couldn't feel her there. Moved to wake up properly, his eyes searched the room for her as he sat up. On the far side of that little bedroom, he caught her getting dressed. Her hair fell across her face as she did it, teasing glimpses of her features.

 "Morning," he mumbled softly. Tommy’s voice caught on the sharp edge of a syllable and it prompted a smile as she turned to face him, the light blonde curls of her hair bouncing as she did. “Here a minute,” he requested.

 Obliging him, she went to perch on his side of the bed and instinctively leaned in for a languid kiss. He moved his forehead against hers, drawing her in, neither in a hurry to move. Grace was the first to break their silence, though she kept her face against his. "Plans for the day?" 

 "Busy being an upright businessman, Grace, bringing home the bacon for the missus," he said, so enthusiastically that it stirred a touch of cynicism in her. He was so excited by the prospect of his real 'limited' company and the domesticity of their relationship, a new experience for them both, but how long would that last? "And we’re having a family meeting today," he added, his accent dropping a number of consonants. 

 "Late?" she asked casually, prompting Tommy to grin.

 "No." He thought for a minute. "You should come."

 "What? No."

 "You should come, Grace," he said, more firmly.

 "They hate me. And they've good reason to."

 "I'm the head of the family, and I love you," Tommy said, comfortable with those words now. More comfortable than Grace was hearing them.

 "That's touching and I'll be reflecting on that in the seconds I have before Polly fires the machine gun at my head."

 “We didn’t tell Polly where we put the machine gun,” he replied lightly. They looked at each other, both still and both silent. Neither yielded.

 "I've done too much to them, Tommy. You know that. I've done too much to you too."

 "I'm sick of hearing about it now, Grace. Past's past. I don’t hold what’s past in very high regard.” He spoke with profound intensity as he spoke, as though it were a promise to her, before he softened, absently playing with a loose curl of her hair.

 She considered his argument. Grace knew that if she wanted to be with Tommy, this was going to be part of the deal. She would have the face the family. She'd just sit with Finn, and avoid eye contact. "I'll come."

 She smiled at him and he smiled at her.

 "Good. Now, I don't think you've put that dress on quite right. Let me..." Tommy moved his hands across her shoulders, taking the fabric of her dress between his fingers. Grace beamed as she moved to kiss him again, their lips smiling against each other. As they deepened their kiss, he leaned back as they indulged themselves a little longer in bed. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 Tommy stood, as always, before the board of bets with the Shelby clan in its entirety gathered around him. Grace kept close, a little to his left and far from the next person. She had initially moved beside Finn, but Polly had called her youngest nephew over to her, keen to make Grace feel like the outsider she was. Tommy watched, but knew better than to interfere. He shot Polly a scolding look but nothing more. Grace could master a poker face with the best of them, so feigned an apathetic confidence in favour of appearing vulnerable. They weren’t the pitying types, she reasoned.

 After Tommy offered up a stirring speech on his future intentions for the business, which he insisted would all be above board ("Upstanding citizens, we are now, boys."), it didn’t take long before John started griping. “What’s she doing here, Tom?”

 “Yeah, it’s her fault we’ve had that bloody copper on our backs…” Arthur joined in, his voice heavier than his younger brother’s, his accent thicker.

 “Her fault my Freddie was taken…” Ada chimed in, more animated than either of her brothers had been but not as loud.

 Soon enough the whole family had something to say about Grace’s presence, and Tommy sighed with impatience. Shifting uncomfortably, Grace didn't know whether it would be better for her to edge towards Tommy or the door. 

 “Listen up.” Tommy snapped. “Ada, Freddie’s sat right fucking next to you. The business is fine. Police are in our pockets. What the fuck do you lot have to complain about? I fucking love _her_.” The last word hung in the air.

 “I was on the wrong side in all this, and I realised it too late.” Grace spoke up for herself. “And I’m sorry.”

 “She expecting to sing us a song and have us all fawning?” Polly asked, coldly.

 “Would a song work?” Tommy replied, his lips moving to a mischievous grin.

 After a silence, Arthur began to laugh a little and John joined in. A ripple of amusement crossed the room, and a little of the tension went out of Tommy’s shoulders. Grace, more cautious, kept her posture stiff. 

It was the eldest Shelby brother who spoke up first. “Takings are down since herself stopped working behind the bar,” he stated, gesturing to Grace. “…Unless I’m not getting my adding up right. Which ain’t out of the question.” Thank God for Arthur, Grace thought.

She held back a relieved smile and nodded very slightly. “I won’t miss another shift, Arthur.”

 He nodded, as Tommy let out a deep breath.

 “You should know, we’re not awful forgetful people…” Polly began, a stern warning present in just the tone of her voice.

 “Pol,” Tommy stopped her. “An hour ago, John shot a hole in the wall because he _forgot_ his gun was loaded.” John looked at the floor, embarrassed, as Esme and Arthur smirked either side of him.

 “Thomas.” Polly’s expression hardened, and the two of them looked at each other silently for a little longer than was comfortable for everyone else. “She can sit in this room and pretend she’s a Shelby, and you can tell yourself that she is, but she never will be. What’s more, her vote don’t count.”

 Before Tommy could speak, Grace replied simply, “I’m quite used to my vote not counting.”

 Polly didn’t show a smile; she didn’t so much as soften her expression. But she warmed to Grace at that. After all, Polly couldn’t help but notice a marked improvement in Tommy. He was making decisions with his heart a little more than his head, but her fears that his coldness, his trauma would engulf him had subsided. She credited that to Grace - begrudgingly. 

 “Touching as this all is, shall we get back to business before everyone starts crying and hugging…” Tommy suggested after a prolonged silence. He and Grace looked at each other, letting coy smiles go briefly, before he carried on addressing the family. “Anyone else got a grievance they’d like to share today?”

 The hands of Ada, Freddie, Finn and John went up.

 “Well, you’ll have to fucking live with it.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always much appreciated. Thanks for reading.


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